Vermonia Graphic Novels Series

Vermonia follows the extraordinary story of four seemingly ordinary teenagers. Mel, Naomi, Doug and Jim are facing the every-day challenges any teenager may face: petty arguments, overbearing parents, an upcoming battle of the bands contest and their favourite location for skateboarding being locked behind security gates. But one night, each of them have a bizarre dream - the same dream - which turns their lives upside down and transports them to another realm where they find out that they are the four warriors predicted by an ancient prophecy.

Backed by four guides sent to help them, the group travel to the Turtle Realm to rescue Mel, kidnapped from their skate park by the very foe they must face. Thrown into battle to save Mel and the new friends they make along the way, they discover that they possess spirit, courage, strength and intuition they never realised they were capable of.

The Vermonia books are the first Graphic Novels from YoYo, a group formed in 2006 with a view to create a new kind of Manga. YoYo is fronted by Saki, a Tokyo resident who teaches Manga and Animation at Nihon Kogakuin College - the college she also attended as a student. The College has many campuses across Japan, and the one in downtown Tokyo specialises in Anime and Manga, also teaching design, illustration and graphics.

The Vermonia books are accessible to readers of any age; the four teenage main characters are completely relatable and the added fantasy element is engaging and inspiring. The characters the teens meet in the Turtle Realm are a myriad of gorgeously designed and fully developed characters born of an ancient and stunningly imagined historical magic; fully exploring a genre that has always been popular, and will always continue to be.

The books are surprisingly fast-paced, with illustrations so full of movement and action they fill the story with excitement and pull the reader right in. The illustrations are of the style and quality you would expect from a Manga graphic novel, with the inner grayscale pages flanked by eye-catching pages in full-colour: images anyone would love to have framed on their walls. Each book ends with impressive fold out colour images as a sneak preview of the next book; which will be eagerly awaited every time.

Vermonia is very accessible to a Western audience; the characters and themes are entirely universal, the language is natural and informal, and the fantasy elements are explored through evolved characters, clear history and a constantly unravelling story. As the teens learn about this new world they find themselves in, so too does the reader: seeing the jigsaw come together piece by piece.

If you're new to Manga graphic novels, the Vermonia series would be a fantastic place to start, and if you're a veteran of reading Manga, you will not be at all disappointed.